In recent years, Brattleboro Food Co-op in Brattleboro, Vt., has been on the lookout for ways to increase the co-op’s revenue streams. This past summer, Brattleboro partnered with the local Marlboro Music Festival as the event’s food provider, with several co-op staff working at the event to provide food service for attendees.

Elias Abdul Sater, Brattleboro’s food services director, was tasked with making it all happen. Sater brought a background in catering and events to the co-op, which he applied to planning the food for the festival over its seven-week run.

Since its founding in 1951, Marlboro Music has served as a gathering place for area musicians and music lovers. Its annual music festival is a series of public concerts presented from mid-July to mid-August each summer, attracting hundreds of visitors.

Sater and his team prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the attendees, as well as food for special events, birthday parties, etc., feeding about 150 people a day and even more on holidays like the Fourth of July.

“Anything food related, we did,” Sater said. “The [Marlboro] Music Festival is a long-time tradition, but it’s never had a good food vendor. We were looking to up the game a bit.”

Brattleboro’s involvement with the event started with one of the festival’s board members, who was also a member of the co-op. They suggested the co-op would be an excellent caterer for the event. Additionally, one of the chefs on Brattleboro’s staff also attended Marlboro College and was familiar with the festival. According to Sater, all things fell into place, and “the next thing you know, we were doing it.”

“The staff loved it,” Sater said. “The college offered housing for staff, and people came from around the world. Our food made people feel like home away from home.”

Sater said the co-op’s involvement in the summer festival was a big success, and he hopes to expand their catering to events year-round.